Shane Watson killers' sentences not long enough say family

The heartbroken family of Sedgley murder victim Shane Watson today said the minimum sentences his killers were given were not long enough.

Two teenagers were yesterday sentenced to life for the 'ferocious and unprovoked attack' on the 23-year-old Wolves fan.

Judge John Warner ordered Shylon Wishart to serve a minimum of 16 years and James Cartwright at least 13, in custody.

But Mr Watson's cousin Scott Maher-Butler said the whole family had been upset by the length of the minimum term sentences and had been hoping the pair would have to serve longer.

"We weren't very happy with the amount of time they got – but then the sentence is never going to be long enough," he said. "Everyone is very upset at the moment."

A seven-day trial heard that Wishart, 19, and 18-year-old Cartwright, targeted Mr Watson in the alleyway off Springfield Grove in Sedgley.

The two attackers stripped Mr Watson and took pictures of themselves urinating on him after they had beaten him on July 28 last year.

Mr Watson's battered body was discovered in the alleyway by his mother Jane and girlfriend Kelly Handley. Sector crown prosecutor Martin Lindop, who described the two defendants as 'evil and dangerous', said he hoped yesterday's sentencing would at least bring 'a sense of closure' to Mr Watson's friends and family.

He added: "This is an extremely tragic case of a young man who had become separated from his girlfriend after a night out in Dudley, and who then had the misfortune of coming across two evil and dangerous men in the form of Cartwright and Wishart who were both high on drugs and alcohol and it seems were looking for trouble that night.

"The two men approached Mr Watson on the premise of asking for a cigarette, but instead they launched a ferocious and unprovoked att-ack on him resulting in Mr Watson receiving ser-ious head injuries from which he would later die.

"Not content with this heinous crime, the pair then stole Mr Watson's mobile telephone and other personal effects, and as Mr Watson's girlfriend and mother tried to contact him, the pair answered the phone and began to taunt and boast to them as to what they had done to him."

Detective Inspector Nigel Harrison, who initially led the investigation, said: "We hope the family can have some sense of closure following their terrible loss." Cartwright, 18, of Sandyfields Road, had earlier admitted murder while Wishart, 19, of North Springfield, Sedgley, was found guilty of the charge after trial.